Zigzag: A Life on the Move

R.G. Moyles is a professor of English at the University of Alberta and
the co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities: British Views
of Canada, 1880–1914.

To say that the gods have dealt James Houston a cornucopia of experience
would be putting the matter mildly. In the first part of his
biographical trilogy, Confessions of an Igloo Dweller, he described in
brilliant detail his life among the Inuit of Baffin Island where, as
civil administrator, he taught the Inuit the techniques of printmaking.
For that, and for his popularizing of Inuit art throughout the world, he
is well known.

The second volume of his trilogy chronicles his career in New York as a
master designer at Steuben Glass (Houston has over 100 glass sculptures
to his credit), along with his experiences as a sheep farmer, novelist,
Hollywood scriptwriter, pacific-salmon fisher, and world traveler (going
on safari in Africa, cruising the Mediterranean, and sketching in Paris,
are among his many exotic excursions).

The book’s title refers to the fact that, in April 1961 Houston was
“an old arctic hand ... eating raw seal meat and worrying about his
dog team (zig), while in May 1962 he was “living in mid-Manhattan,
wearing a dinner jacket ... and worrying about his new role as a
Designer at Steuben Glass” (zag). “Zigzag” could also describe the
path we follow as we urge our imaginations to keep up with this man of
many talents. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, even though it
inspires envy at times.